1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the removal of cholesterol from edible fats, and more particularly, to a process for removing cholesterol by adding MgBr.sub.2 or CaBr.sub.2 and preferably CaBr.sub.2 to melted edible fat containing cholesterol and removing the precipitate formed by the reaction of MgBr.sub.2 or CaBr.sub.2 with cholesterol. This process is capable of removing between about 65% and about 100% of the cholesterol originally present.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Cholesterol is a fatlike alcohol synthesized and found in all body tissues, and is an essential ingredient for certain biochemical processes, including the production of sex hormones. Although the presence of an amount of cholesterol is necessary to enable the human body to properly function, it has been hypothesized that increased amounts of cholesterol in the bloodstream can lead to atherosclerosis, causing a higher risk of heart disease. As a result, humans are attempting to maintain the amount of excess cholesterol in their bloodstream to a minimum.
A primary source of cholesterol is in food products, and in particular animal food products such as eggs, dairy products, poultry, fish, lard, and other animal fats. Due to the hypothesized risk of heart disease caused by increased cholesterol levels, humans have attempted to reduce or eliminate the consumption of these foods. Unfortunately, a large amount of cholesterol is found in many foods that are considered desirable and appetizing. Accordingly, it would be desirable to allow humans to consume these foods while maintaining the amount of cholesterol ingested to a minimum.
Attempts have been made in the art to reduce the amount of cholesterol in cholesterol containing foods.
A first method for reducing the amount of cholesterol in foods is by using a procedure known as steam-stripping. This technology is described in greater detail in Prepared Foods, p.99, July 1989. This process involves cascading the product in a falling film down a series of plate and ring-type heat exchange components as it is heated under vacuum by countercurrent steam to about 430.degree.-550.degree. C. Under these conditions, the cholesterol component is extracted by flash vaporization and is carried away in rising steam to condensers. This process is being practiced by OmegaSource Corp. of Minneapolis, Minn. While this process is capable of removing significant amounts of cholesterol from edible fats, it is disadvantageous as it is not "specific" to cholesterol, thereby causing colors and flavors to be removed along with the cholesterol removed. Accordingly, to produce a final product, these components must be re-added to the fat composition.
Another method for removing cholesterol from edible fats is to extract the cholesterol containing fat with super-critical carbon dioxide. This technology is described in greater detail in Food Processing, pp. 154-160, November 1989, and in Food Engineering, pp. 172-174, May 1989. This technology is being practiced by Phasex Corp. of Lawrence, Mass. This process is disadvantageous as it is extremely costly to implement on a commercial scale.
A further method for removing cholesterol comprises utilizing a charcoal adsorption process wherein the fat is passed through a bed of charcoal which functions as an adsorbent material. This technology is described in greater detail in EP 0 174 848.
Still another method for removing cholesterol is to add enzymes or microorganisms to the fat to convert the cholesterol to another compound. Examples of this are set forth in Japan Publication No. 60-18375, and in Chosson et al., "Microbial Elimination of Cholesterol Present in Anhydrous Milk Fat", Int'l Conference Biotechnology and Food, 1989. This process is disadvantageous as there is no guarantee that the product synthesized by the enzyme or microorganism will be safe.
EP 0 256 911 eliminates cholesterol contained in a fatty material by adding cyclodextrins to the fatty material, followed by phase separation. This process is disadvantageous in that it is not specific and will also remove color and flavors from the fatty material.